India vs Australia: Ashwin Not Doing Own Reputation Any Good With Injuries - Ganguly

Former India captain Sourav Ganguly has raised concerns over R Ashwin's frequent injuries, saying the off-spinner 'is not doing his reputation any good'.

Ashwin missed the second Test against Australia in Perth due to a left-side abdominal strain. He couldn't recover in time for the third Test in Melbourne which began on Wednesday (December 26), despite there being an eight-day break between the two games.

Ashwin had picked six wickets and played a key role in India's victory in the first Test in Adelaide. In his absence, India went with four pacers in Perth, but the move backfired and India ended up losing by 146 runs, with Australia's off-spinner Nathan Lyon named the Player of the Match for picking up eight wickets.

"Ravichandran Ashwin is worrying me now, he can't be the premier spinner and get injured so many times on big tours: England, South Africa and now Australia," Ganguly wrote in his column in the Times of India.

"The team needs him against left-handers...he is not doing his reputation any good."

Ashwin had also missed the final Test against England at The Oval due to a groin injury. He had played through the injury in the previous Test at Southampton, and had come under the scanner for a poor show in the second innings when he returned just 1 for 84 from 37.1 overs on a worn out pitch. England won that Test, and thus the series, by 60 runs, with off-spinner Moeen Ali named the Man of the Match for his nine wickets.

This is the fourth of the 11 overseas Tests that Ashwin has missed this year, with three of those due to injuries.

India are playing Ravindra Jadeja as the lone spinner in Melbourne. The final Test of the series starts on January 3 in Sydney.